Did a Surface Pro 3 replace your laptop?

The moment you notice something for the first time, it tends to just keep popping up with more frequency. That’s how it’s been for Surface Pro 3 commercials lately. I see them all the time now. And while the most recent one I keep seeing — I actually think there are two different commercials that are so similar, or spliced together in such a way that they actually appear to be one in the same — is super festive and even has a song in it, none of them are actually all that great.

I actually can’t help but smile and chuckle a bit every time I see it, too. Eventually, sure, they’ll just get annoying, but I imagine they’ll stop being aired right around that time. (Hopefully.) And, I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of them by now, too, one way or another. The most prominent ones show a Surface Pro 3 next to Apple’s MacBook Air.

Then, ceremoniously, the ad starts checking off the features found in a Surface Pro 3.

These are all the features that you’d see in any ad, really, but it’s totally different when you place it directly against a competing product. If Microsoft simply launched a Surface Pro 3 commercial that showed the kickstand, the touchscreen, the stylus, the keyboard, or even the single USB port, it would have a totally different effect.

Instead, when Microsoft brings up the single USB port I just laugh. That’s great, Microsoft! The MBA has two of those. (I’ve never actually had two devices plugged into both ports before, but at least I know I can if I never need to.) Oh, you’ve got a Kickstand on that tablet that can replace a PC? That’s great — because you kind of need it, right? Otherwise, your tablet that can replace a PC would be effectively worthless and pointless. Great, you’ve got a touchscreen. And your stylus can draw circles on your touchscreen? Awesome.

(Arguably, this last part is probably the hardest for Microsoft to actually sell in a 30-second spot, or even an ad that runs for a minute. The stylus is easily one of the best features of the Surface Pro 3, especially the latest version, but it’s hard to sell a stylus in general. Microsoft sells the stylus by constantly drawing a circle on something. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t make me want to run out and get one.)

Microsoft’s advertising aside, I’ve now tried the Surface Pro 3 on two separate occasions and neither time I’ve kept it for long. The company wants to sell it as a device that can replace my laptop, so that’s exactly how I compare the pair of devices. I put it up against my MacBook Pro, test out the keyboard, miss out on the media keys, try the trackpad, and so on and so forth.

In the end, the Surface Pro 3 is a great device that continues to get better, but it just can’t replace my MBA just yet.

Also, Microsoft, start selling a keyboard with the Surface Pro 3. This is getting ridiculous.

But I’m curious about how many of you out there tried, and maybe even kept, a Surface Pro 3. More than that, though, I want to know if it actually replaced something. A laptop. A desktop. Something that you used to use every day, for work or whatever, and your Surface Pro 3 effectively replaced it. Let me know!

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